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Online Curriculum to be Approved in November
Board Briefed on New Requirement
That School Trustees Take Safety Training
The SBOE took the first step toward implementing the provisions of 2021’s HB690-Metcalf (regular session) that requires local school board trustees to complete training in school safety. The bill requires the SBOE to approve the curriculum for the training in consultation with the Texas School Safety Center.
TEA staff, who joined safety center staff in briefing the SBOE Committee on School Initiatives (webcast-click Item 4) about the bill, said that due to the bill’s requirement that the curriculum be implemented no later than Jan. 1, 2022, the board will likely approve the curriculum at the November 2021 meeting.
Although the curriculum will likely be adopted sooner, rather than later, the SBOE’s rule making process that will direct when school board members must complete the school safety training, and if they must retake the course if they have been on a school board for an as-yet-to-be-determined length of time, can proceed more slowly.
That’s because, TEA staff said, the bill is silent on timelines, other than when the curriculum is to be in place. The bill also does not specify what topics must be included in the training and how long the training sessions must last.
Monica Martinez, the TEA’s associate commissioner for standards and support services, said that the plan, as envisioned, is to offer the training via a TEA online platform free of charge to districts, allowing school board members to individually take and complete the training at their convenience — such as “on a Friday night in their pajamas.”
A three-hour course was mentioned as a possibility.
During the leadup to the passage of the bill, the Texas Association of School Boards testified neutrally, and pointed out that school safety and security training are already among the topics for which school board members receive training.